The Ark of God is Taken by the Philistines

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 4:1) And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle and pitched beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

Samuel had grown to manhood, and the Lord had raised him and prepared him to be His prophet.  Now Samuel, as the Lord's prophet, spoke the words of the Lord to all Israel.  At that time Israel went to battle against the Philistines.  The Israelites pitched beside a place later called Ebenezer, which would be so named in 1 Samuel 7:12.  The Philistines pitched in Aphek, a city in the tribe of Judah, bordering on the Philistines.

(2) And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel, and when they joined battle, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, and they killed of the army in the field about four thousand men.

The Philistines formed their battle line, and when Israel engaged with them, the Philistines defeated the Israelites and killed four thousand men.

(3) And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies."

When the people returned to their camp, the elders rightly perceived that the Lord Himself defeated them before the Philistines, but they failed to understand why or to seek counsel of the Lord.  They were incredulous that the Lord should allow those heathens to defeat them.  They had become complacent.  I can't help but relate that to my country today.  Americans have become so fat and lazy and smug, they take no notice of the dangers on the horizon, thinking those things never happen to us, or if they do, we always bounce back.  People are oblivious of why they were ever blessed in the first place and have turned their backs on God.  Likewise the Israelites did not look inward but foolishly placed their confidence in an external object, the ark, to save them.  They did not look to the Lord.

(4) So the people sent to Shiloh that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubim, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (5) And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout so that the earth rang again.

The people sent word to Shiloh to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord who would appear and dwell in the mercy seat between two cherubim that covered the seat.  Eli's sons were there with the ark and presumably brought the ark to the camp themselves.  When the ark came into the camp, the people shouted with great joy and confidence in their coming success.  They shouted with such a great shout, the earth shook.

(6) And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" And they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.

When the Philistines heard the shouting, they wondered among themselves what it meant.  Then they perceived that it was the ark of the Hebrews' Lord.

(7) And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before. (8) Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? These are the Gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness."

The Philistines were then afraid when they realized the Israelites' God had come into their camp.  They feared for their fate for they had never fought the Israelite God before, at least not so obvious a presence.  They had heard about the ten plagues that were inflicted on the Egyptians, and they didn't think they stood a chance against their Gods, as they called Israel's Lord, because they were accustomed to their many gods.

(9) "Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, O you Philistines, that you be not servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men and fight!"

However, the Philistines gave themselves a pep talk.  Since there was no one else to deliver them out of the hands of the Israelites' God, they had to depend on their own strength.  It is interesting that they evidently thought the Hebrew God to be stronger than their gods, yet they presumed to fight against Him anyway.  Of course, that could have been the Spirit of God spurring them on for His purposes.  They did not want to become servants to the Israelites as they had previously been servants to them, so they had to gather their strength and fight.

(10) And the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled every man to his tent, and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

The Philistines did fight, and they defeated Israel, killing thirty thousand of their army.  The men who escaped death ran back to their tents.

(11) And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

The Philistines had taken the ark of the Lord and had killed Hophni and Phinehas who had been with the ark.

(12) And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head.

A Benjamite from the Israelite army ran that same day to Shiloh.  His clothes were torn and there was dirt on his head which were signs of distress and mourning.

(13) And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. 

When the man in mourning came into the city, it seems he bypassed Eli who sitting by the wayside watching for he feared for the fate of the ark of the covenant.  He didn't so much fear for his sons as he expected their death because of the divine prophecy he had received.  He now displayed honor for God and His ark above his sons, whereas God through prophecy had accused Eli of honoring his sons above Him (1 Samuel 2:29).  Once again, I see Eli as a good man, but a weak one.  However, it is true that he sinned when he should have honored God above his sons and dealt with them accordingly but didn't.  The man in mourning came into the city and told what had happened in the battle, and all the people in the city cried out.

(14) And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, "What does the noise of this tumult mean?" And the man came in hastily and told Eli. (15) Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were dim that he could not see. (16) And the man said to Eli, "I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army." And he said, "What is there done, my son?"

When Eli heard the cries of the people, he asked what the commotion meant.  The man came to tell him.  Eli was very old and had become blind, so the man described himself to Eli.  He told him he had come from the army, and Eli asked him for news of the battle.

(17) And the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken."

The man told Eli that the Israelites had fled from the Philistines in defeat, and that there had been a great slaughter, including his two sons who were dead.  He told him that the ark of God had been taken.

(18) And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

It was when the man told Eli that the ark of God had been taken, that he was so struck with grief that he fell backward off his seat and broke his neck.  He was very old, probably with brittle bones, and he was heavy, so that his fall broke his neck and he died.  It's noteworthy that Eli was heavy, meaning fat, and you don't normally think of men in Eli's position as fat men.  That was usually the condition of gluttonous and wicked kings.  But Eli had become fat with the best offerings of the people (1 Samuel 2:29).  Eli had judged Israel for forty years.

(19) And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife, was with child due to be delivered, and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth for her pains came upon her.

Eli's daughter-in-law, Phinehas's pregnant wife, was so distraught when she heard the news that the ark had been taken and that Eli and her husband were dead, that she went into labor.

(20) And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said, "Fear not, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer, neither did she regard it.

After she delivered the baby, she was dying.  The women who stood by her tried to encourage her by telling her she had borne a son which was usually a matter of joy, but she did not answer them, nor did she seem to regard what they said at all.

(21) And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory is departed from Israel," because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. (22) And she said, "The glory is departed from Israel for the ark of God is taken."

As she was dying, she named her child Ichabod which literally meant "no glory."  She gave as her reason for naming him Ichabod, that the glory had departed from Israel because the ark of God had been taken and her father-in-law and her husband had died.  That may have been what the women attending her thought was the reason, but Phinehas's wife repeated her reason, specifying it was only because the ark of God had been taken that the glory had departed from Israel, and that is why she named her child Ichabod.  It was not because of the death of her father-in-law and her husband that she said the glory had departed, but only because the ark was taken.

I am struck by the sincere love of God and His ark displayed by Eli and his daughter-in-law.  Although there was much sin and apathy in Israel that caused God to turn away from them and allow His ark to be taken by heathens and "suffered His glory for a time to become eclipsed," as Adam Clarke put it in his Commentary on the Bible, these two were so struck by sorrow and the horror of it, it killed them.  Nothing brings such overpowering grief and feelings of desolation and even hopelessness than the thought that God has left us, that He has turned His back on us.  Although they had become complacent, these two apparently had a deep love for God.  They just needed to be reminded of that fact.  However, it was too late for them as they died, but their lesson for us lives on forever.  God hates a lukewarm Christian (Revelation 3:16).

The Wickedness of Eli's Sons

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 2:11) And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

In the last post, Hannah had brought her child to Eli at the tabernacle of the Lord, as she had vowed in her prayer when she asked the Lord for a son.  Hannah had delivered a song of thanksgiving and praise, and now her husband Elkanah, with Hannah, I'm sure, went back to their home in Ramah.  Their son Samuel stayed with Eli and ministered to the Lord in whatever way he could at his young age, surely learning songs of praise and learning to read the book of the law.

(12) Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they did not know the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:3 told us that the names of Eli's sons were Hophni and Phinehas, and they were priests of the Lord.  Since Eli was high priest, his sons were priests by birth.  However, we learn here that they really didn't know the Lord but were sons of wickedness.

(13) And the priests' custom with the people was when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand while the flesh was boiling, (14) And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

I believe the sense is that the priests had made their own custom that was not in agreement with the law of the Lord.  According to the law, if this was a burnt offering, it was wholly consumed by fire, so this must have been a peace offering where part belonged to the Lord, the fat which was burnt, the breast and shoulder went to the priest, and the rest went to the owner of the sacrifice, who made a feast of it for his family and friends.  The parts of the flesh that were boiling were probably the parts belonging to the owner and his family, but the priests, Hophni and Phinehas, had made it a custom to send a servant with a three-pronged fork to draw up more portions for themselves.  This they did to all the Israelites with their offerings.

(15) Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, "Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not have boiled flesh of you, but raw." (16) And if any man said to him, "Let them not fail to burn the fat presently and then take what your soul desires," then he would answer him, "No, but you shall give it now, and if not, I will take it by force."

Also before they burnt the fat of the offering, the priest's servant came and demanded flesh to roast for the priest, for he wanted raw flesh to roast, not boiled flesh after the owner's portion was boiled.  If a man told the servant that they must burn the fat first in keeping with the law, the priest's servant refused and said he wanted it right then, and if the owner refused, he would take what he wanted by force.  It was obvious in this that the priests had no respect and reverence for the things of the Lord, nor for His laws.

(17) Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

The sin of the priests was very great before the Lord, in that they took what was not their own, sometimes by force, and before the Lord had His part in the offering, and all this was done in the Lord's house, in His presence.  This plainly showed that they had no respect nor fear of God.  Also they caused all men to find offering to the Lord a disagreeable thing when they saw how the law of God was not followed.  It probably made some neglect bringing their sacrifices at all.

(18) But Samuel ministered before the Lord as a child, girded with a linen ephod.

However, Samuel ministered before the Lord, even at his young age.  He wore a linen ephod such as the priests wore, which would appear to be a special privilege to one so young.

(19) Moreover, his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Hannah, his mother, would make Samuel a coat to wear over his other clothes and bring one to him every year when her family came to offer the yearly sacrifice.

(20) And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "The Lord give you descendants of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord." And they went to their own home.

On one such occasion Eli blessed Elkanah and Hannah, telling them they would be blessed with more children because of their gift of Samuel to the Lord.  Then they went to their own home.

(21) And the Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

Indeed, the Lord gave Hannah more children, three sons and two daughters, while Samuel grew up before the Lord in the tabernacle.

(22) Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Eli became very old, and it seems it was only then that he heard about what his sons had been doing to the Israelites with regard to their offerings, and also how they sexually lay with women who assembled at the door of the congregation.

(23) And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. (24) No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear; you make the Lord's people to transgress."

Eli asked his sons why they did such things.  He heard of all they were doing from the people.  Not only were they doing evil, but they caused the people to sin, as well.  They caused the people to sin in the way they offered their offerings, and they caused the women to sin who came to the tabernacle, whom they took to satisfy their sexual desires.

(25) "If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who shall intreat for him?" However, they did not hearken to the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

Eli continued with his somewhat mild rebuke of his sons.  If a man sinned against another man, a judge would determine the outcome, but if one sinned against God, who would dare intercede for him?   I think his point was that even he, their father, would not be able to defend them if they sinned against God.  However, his sons would not listen to their father nor heed his warning, but that was part of the Lord's will, for He would kill them for their wickedness.

(26) And the child Samuel grew on and was in favor, both with the Lord and also with men.

Meanwhile, Samuel grew in the tabernacle, and he was in favor of the Lord, as well as with men.

(27) And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Did I plainly appear to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? (28) And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And did I give to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?'"

A messenger from God went to Eli, and speaking the words of the Lord, reminded him that the Lord Himself had appeared to his forefather Aaron when they were in Egypt, and that He had chosen Aaron and his descendants out of all the tribes to be His priests.  They had much honor and privilege, and the Lord provided them with their share of the offerings.

(29) "'Therefore, why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My habitation, and honor your sons above Me to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all offerings of Israel My people?'"

The man of God continued with the words of the Lord, asking why Eli trampled upon and despised His offering that He had commanded in His house.  He accused him of honoring his sons above the Lord because he allowed them to dishonor Him by their actions.  It is likely that Eli would have taken part in feasts their sons made with the choicest pieces of the offerings of the people.  More than likely, it is probably a sure thing that he did, as the message of the Lord was that all of them made themselves fat with the best of the offerings.

(30) "Therefore the Lord God of Israel says, 'I said indeed your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever.' But now the Lord says, 'Be it far from Me, for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.'"

The man of God continued.  The Lord God of Israel had determined that Eli's line through his father, Ithamar, should minister before Him forever.  However, now the Lord said it was far from Him to allow the priesthood to continue in the line of Ithamar and Eli.  He would honor those who honored Him, but those who despised Him, as Eli's sons had shown they did, would be only lightly esteemed.  Actually, the original word "qalal" that was translated as "lightly esteemed" is more often translated as "cursed" in other scriptures.  That is probably a better meaning here.

(31) "'Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.'"

The Lord warned Eli that the days were coming when He would cut off his strength, power, and authority, and that of his father's, and there would be no old man left in his house.

(32) "'And you shall see an enemy in My habitation, in all which God shall give Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.'"

Eli would live to see an enemy or affliction in the Lord's tabernacle in all the wealth that the Lord had planned for Israel.  The prophet repeated that there would not be an old man in Eli's house, and this time he added the word "forever." 

(33) "'And the man of yours whom I shall not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart, and all the increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age.'"

The state of any man of Eli's posterity whom the Lord did not cut off from His altar would make his eyes cry and his heart full of grief.  All of his posterity would die in the prime of their lives.

(34) "'And this a sign unto you that shall come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas, in one day they shall die both of them.'"

There would be a sign to Eli that all the man of God had told him would be fulfilled when he saw his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, die on the same day.

(35) "'And I will raise Me up a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.'"

Continuing with the words of the Lord, the man of God told Eli He would raise up a faithful priest who would do according to the will and heart of the Lord.  The Lord would build him a sure house, which probably meant He would give him a numerous posterity to ensure the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.  He and his posterity would walk before the Lord's anointed, the Messiah, forever.  The priests were to represent Christ, act in His name, and point toward the coming Messiah.

(36) "'And it shall come to pass, everyone who is left in your house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, "Put me, I pray you, into one of the priests' offices that I may eat a piece of bread."'"

Everyone left alive in Eli's house would be reduced to begging God's priest for a small piece of silver and a morsel of bread and asking to be put into one of the priests' offices in whatever inferior post they might find in order to keep them from starving.

The main subject of this part of the chapter focuses on the wickedness of Hophni and Phinehas, and even Eli, because of his weakness and leniency and failure to stop the wicked behavior in God's house.  The sad state of the priesthood throughout this post is sprinkled with the bright spots of little Samuel growing in the Lord.  It's a perfect picture of our world today, so much wickedness even in high places of government and the church, but throughout the world in different walks of life, God is raising up His people to follow Him, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." (2 Chronicles 16:9)

It's not that God was raising up Samuel to be His priest, as Samuel was not from the correct line of priests, but He was raising him up for other purposes.  There is only one perfect priest who can do all according to the heart and mind of God, and that is Jesus Christ.  In Him, the Lord will build a sure house, the Christian church upon the rock that is Jesus Christ.  The wickedness of Eli's sons and Eli himself who knew what his sons were doing was evil, but he did nothing about it, illustrates the need for a Savior.  We all sin and come short of the glory of the Lord (Romans 3:23).  "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Birth of the Prophet Samuel

Continuing a chronological Bible study: 

(1 Samuel 1:1) Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim of Mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.

This first chapter of 1 Samuel takes us back to the time of the judges of Israel, Samson being the last one (Judges 16).  Judges 17-21 didn't actually follow a chronological order but told how the people had strayed and did what was right in their own eyes, before the time of the judges.  I've been disappointed in this particular chronological pattern of studying the Bible that was presented by Skip Andrews, as it is not always exactly in chronological date order, but I can't change now.  This chapter begins by telling us about a man named Elkanah who lived at a place called Ramathaim Zophim in Mount Ephraim.  He was the son of Jeroham, who was the son of Elihu, who was the son of Tohu, who was the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite from Ephratah which is said to be another name for Bethlehem Judah.

(2) And he had two wives, the name of the one Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah, and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.  Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

(3) And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.

Elkanah went, as he did yearly, to Shiloh to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord, called the Lord of hosts, which means the Lord of heaven's armies.  Eli was the next judge after Samson and was also the high priest.  He and his sons who were also priests were there in Shiloh.

(4) And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters.

This was probably a peace offering where the bringer of the offering shared in the feast made of his offering.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, explained:  "The sacrifices which were made were probably peace-offerings, of which the blood was poured out at the foot of the altar; the fat was burnt on the fire; the breast and right shoulder were the portion of the priest, and the rest belonged to him who made the offering; on it he and his family feasted, each receiving his portion..."  Elkanah gave portions of his offering to his wife Peninnah and to her children.

(5) But to Hannah he gave a worthy portion, for he loved Hannah; but the Lord had shut up her womb.

It appears that Elkanah gave Hannah a more special or choice portion because he loved her.  However, Hannah had no children because the Lord had shut her womb.

(6) And her adversary also provoked her sorely to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.

Scripture doesn't tell us who Hannah's adversary was, but it was probably Peninnah, perhaps jealous that Elkanah loved Hannah best, and she taunted Hannah because she had been unable to have children.  It doesn't have to be Peninnah; the adversary could be Satan feeding her with all sorts of negative thoughts because she had not been able to bear children.  Even if it was Peninnah, Satan the adversary had a hand in it, to be sure.

(7) And he did so year by year; when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Elkanah went to the house of the Lord for this feast year after year.  "She" provoked Hannah when she went up to the house of the Lord, so it is Peninnah who was her adversary.  They were going to make an offering to the Lord, and Peninnah was accompanied by all her children, and Hannah was alone, so Peninnah taunted Hannah until she wept and did not eat.

(8) Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

Elkanah asked Hannah why she grieved so and did not eat.  He asked if his love for her was better than if she had had ten sons.  Or perhaps the meaning was that his love was better than the comfort and love she would receive from ten sons.  The point was that his great love for her, obviously greater than the love he had for Peninnah and her children, should demonstrate that it didn't matter to him that she could not bear him any children.

(9) So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.

Hannah rose up to leave after they had eaten and drunk.  Eli the priest who was also the judge sat upon probably what was called the seat of judgment by a post of the temple of the Lord.

(10) And she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept sorely. (11) And she vowed a vow, and said, "O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and remember me and not forget Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a man child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head."

Hannah wept bitterly and prayed to the Lord.  She vowed that if the Lord looked down on her favorably and gave her a boy child, she would dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, as a Nazarite, and no razor would ever touch his head.

(12) And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli observed her mouth. (13) Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

Hannah was praying to herself, not aloud, but her lips moved as she prayed in her heart.  Eli saw her and observed her mouth moving and thought she was drunk.

(14) And Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you."

Eli spoke to Hannah and asked how long she intended to be drunk and told her to put her wine away.

(15) And Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink but have poured out my soul before the Lord. (16) Do not count your handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken until now."

Hannah told Eli she had not been drinking, but she was just very sorrowful and had poured out her soul to the Lord.  She asked that he not consider her a daughter of wickedness, that it was only because of her overwhelming grief and complaint that her mouth had moved while she prayed.

(17) Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him."

Eli then told Hannah to go in peace, that the God of Israel would grant her request for which she had prayed and asked of God.

(18) And she said, "Let your handmaid find grace in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad.

Hannah wished that she may have found favor with Eli and then went her way.  She ate and she was no longer sad because she had assurance in the words of the priest that God would favorably answer her prayer.

(19) And they rose up in the morning early and worshiped before the Lord and returned and came to their house to Ramah, and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

Elkanah and his family rose up early the next morning and went to the tabernacle to worship the Lord, and then they went back to their home in Ramah, or Ramathaim.  There Elkanah knew his wife Hannah in an intimate way, and the Lord remembered her as she had prayed He would.

(20) So it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bore a son and called his name Samuel, "Because I have asked him of the Lord."

It came to pass when the time was come for Hannah to give birth, she had a son and named him Samuel, which meant literally "heard of God," because she had asked the Lord for him, and the Lord had heard her prayers and answered favorably.

(21) And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow.

Elkanah and his family went to offer a yearly sacrifice to the Lord and for whatever vow he had made since the last offering.  He had possibly made a vow on the occasion of Hannah's prayer and vow, or maybe he vowed an offering of thanksgiving for the child.

(22) But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned, and I will bring him that he may appear before the Lord and abide there forever."

Hannah did not go with her family because she had told Elkanah that she wouldn't go until her baby was weaned, and then she would take him to appear before the Lord where he would abide forever, in keeping with her vow.

(23) And Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems to you good; wait until you have weaned him; only the Lord establish His word. So the woman abode and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

Elkanah told Hannah to do what she thought best and wait until she had weaned Samuel.  Then may the Lord establish His word as vowed by Hannah, to accept and preserve Samuel, and have him grow up a Nazarite in service to the Lord.  Hannah stayed and nursed her baby until she had weaned him.

(24) And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a bottle of wine and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, and the child was young.

When Hannah had weaned her son, she took him with a bull, flour, and a bottle of wine for offerings, and she brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh.  The child was quite young, probably a small toddler.

(25) And they slaughtered a bull and brought the child to Eli.

The bull was slaughtered for sacrifice, and the child was brought to Eli.

(26) And she said, "O my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. (27) For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. (28) Therefore I have also lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord." And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah reminded Eli about who she was, the woman who had prayed to the Lord beside him.  She never told him what she had prayed for, only that she had poured her soul out to the Lord (verse 15), but Eli told her that God would grant her petition (verse 17).  She now told Eli that she had prayed for a child, and the Lord had given her her petition.  She went on to tell him that she was giving her son to the Lord for His service for as long as he lived.  "He" worshiped the Lord there, perhaps Eli who gave thanks to the Lord for what he had declared would be having come to fruition.  Some Biblical scholars think Samuel is meant.  Although he was very young, his spirit knew and was capable of worshiping God in some way, just as Elizabeth's baby leapt in her womb when he heard Mary (Luke 1:41).  Others think "they" was meant, and they all worshiped the Lord for what He had done.